The cost-effectiveness of clozapine: a survey of the literature.

Treatment-resistant schizophrenia is a severely debilitating and costly disease. While clozapine is reported to be an effective therapy for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, it is nevertheless largely underutilised. A review of published cost-effectiveness studies of clozapine conducted in the USA, UK, Sweden and Canada, and employing a variety of study designs, reveals consistent reporting of clinical efficacy, cost and cost-effectiveness findings in favour of clozapine over conventional antipsychotics in the management of treatment-resistant schizophrenia. All reported economic evidence indicates that, despite its higher acquisition cost, clozapine nevertheless represents cost-effective therapy for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Furthermore, the evidence indicates that, for many patients, clozapine may substantially reduce costs associated with treatment-resistant schizophrenia.